Almost Famous: The last three SAABs

Three all-new designs went to the dustbin with SAAB's extinction. We mourn what might have been.

SAAB suffered an ignominious death in 2012, its management desperately grasping at funding throughout a protracted demise. But even as the end neared for the Swedish brand, former design director Jason Castriota—the mastermind behind the Ferrari P4/5by Pininfarina and the Maserati GranTurismo—was penning all-new designs, hoping the company could hang on long enough to birth fresh sheetmetal. Here, he takes us through the never-before-seen Saabs that nearly were.—As told to Josh Condon.

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The idea was that each production model would fall somewhere between two concept-car reference points: the Aero X that debuted in Paris in 2006, and the PhoeniX from Geneva in 2011. The Aero X was the epitome of cool geometric forms, while the PhoeniX was used to broaden our design bandwidth and explore a new youthful language. Larger, more stately executive sedans like the 9-5 and potential 9-7 would pull more from the Aero X, where sportier products like the 9-1 and Sonett drew more from PhoeniX. All cars were to feature the torque-vectoring hybrid 4WD system.

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Jason Castriota Designs

The three designs you see here were to be built on a single all-new platform called Phoenix (hence the name of the Geneva concept). It was to be lighter, stronger, and more adaptive than any previous Saab platform. Phoenix was flexible enough to accommodate everything from the small, Mini Countryman-sized Saab 9-1 up to a 9-7 executive sedan the size of an Audi A8; the redesigned 9-3 and Sonett sports car were slotted between those two extremes. The shared platform allowed Saab not only to amortize development costs, but also to integrate for technology sharing and better content in less expensive models. We viewed this philosophy—high-tech and high-content at every price point—as true to Saab's core values and imperative to survival.

The new architecture featured a lengthened wheelbase (more distance dash-to-axle), and a considerably shorter front overhang—nearly a foot reduced—making it proportionately similar to the latest Audis and BMWs. The engine bay could accommodate most any type of powertrain, which was vital, given that Saab had several engine partners.

Jason Castriota Designs

Since we were focused on returning to what made Saab Saab, a new 9-3 hatch was a given. Being the bread-and-butter car, the 9-3 adopts the robust fuselage of the 9-5, but with a more aggressive front end. It also had class-leading aerodynamics, with a drag coefficient of just 0.26—and that's on a fully equipped, functioning car, not a closed aero model.

The production version of the PhoeniX concept was called the Sonett, and it featured the same two-plus-two layout, with overall dimensions slightly larger than an Audi TT and a bit more interior space. In top-of-the-line spec, this car would have packed up to 400 hp. That was our halo car, but it was meant to be attainable, too.

The Sonett sports car had a two-plus-two layout and up to 400 hp in top spec.

On the SAAB philosophy that almost was, Castriota says, "From a design standpoint, we felt it was important to appeal to a younger audience. We pushed a more emotional/dynamic aesthetic that captured the essence of the early teardrop cars and blended that with the robust strength of the more recent designs like the 9-5."